News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1887-10-27
AUNT HANNAH"

Every one is the better for having a
defined position, and sometimes fancy
mine must be tho 'fgood creature Of
the family
1t is large and scattered family and
gives ample scope for every kind of use
fulness. Time was when / was the
spoilt child of it; but years have hur.
ried on, and the bright promise was
early nipped in the bud by the death ot
my dear parents, privileged to pass away
within twenty-four hours of each other.
As / left the churchyard where the
sun shone softly down upon their undi-
vlded grave, and strove to realize that
henceforward those true and tender
hearts We're sharers in the glorious sun
Shine of Eternal Day, / looked into the
cold hard face of my eldest brother and
knew that the days of sympathetic love
in my old home were over and done
with for me. Robert was not unkind
or unjust, but sympathy was a quality
utterly wanting in his composition, and
If he was just and fair toward others,
what on earth could others want more,
In Heavens name he would ask, i'm
patiently.
All, well, justice is much; but love
and sympathy, what are they not worth
In all our lives, from the highest lady in
the land, whose sympathy never fails in
time of need, down to the little school
child, who viii spare a few precious
crumbs of cake for the hungry robin in
its pathl
My other brothers and sisters were all
married and scattered over the world,
and Roberts eldest children were but a
few years younger than myself, the
youngest of their fathers generation.
For some years lived on in the dear
old home and strove to be of what use
could. No one scrupled to make use
OF me, am bound to say, and by ~
grees the family motto seemed to he.
Aunt Hannah will do it.. She won't
mind"
Did she mind? Sometimes think
she did.
The young ones We're growing up, and
70 them my few additional years consti-
tuted, If not old age, at least advanced
middle age. Little did they think,
whilst their nimble feet twirled to Aunt
Hannah's playing q could play, and for
many reasons threw my heart into doing
my best for their dance music)-little
did they think, | say, how my own shoes
were twitching under the piano with a
longing to be. given chance of turn
myself.
One night 1 overheard a slim young
GuardsbOy murmur to my niece:
"But, | say, won't your aunt be tired,
playing so long l''
Tired Oh no, she won't mind, Z"
responded Edith. "She likes it. !"
bent my head over the piano and
gulped down the choke that almost
oyerpowered me as L steadily marked
time in that valse tune of many memor-
les. Up before the eyes of my memory
rose that evening, seven years before,
upon which my future life had seemed
to hinge. / was twenty then and had
been for two years an inmate of nv
brothers home. I was twenty-seyen
now, and was still considered too younp
to have home of my own by my elder
relations, too old for young lady amuse-
ments by the younger generation.
So steadily played on, and my
thoughts foated away backwards to that
evening have limited at. / saw once
more a small, dark-haired girl, with
hazel eyes and far away look in them,
and over her bent broad-shouldered,
curly y-headed young giant, whose Ipice
trembled as he said, "God bless you,
darling little Hannah; will come to-
morrow and see Robert and you
But oh, Mike, Mike, why did yol1
never come-never, never, and the next
thing that 1 heard was that you had
gone to India the following week, and
the year after ] heard that you were
married. And oh, what had I done,
what had [ done. to deserve such blow
as this
Had 1 misunderstood him? Good
heavens had 1 shown that thought
he loved me, and he had meant nothing
and taken fright, and done the most
merciful thing ne could by vanishing
from ont Of my life
Nigf1t and day / wearied myself to
think eu5 this agonizing puzzle. Speak
to Robert, / dared not. What could he
think Of girl who had admitted she
loved some one, when the some one had
clearly not wished for her love
Roberts wife was wrapped up in heI
babies, and on the only occasion on
which l had braced my heart to ask her